


Working Relationships

by meanderingsoul



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Angst and Humor, Awkward Conversations, Canonical Character Death, Gen, Loss, Maveth - Freeform, Missing Scene
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-08
Updated: 2017-10-08
Packaged: 2019-01-10 09:06:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 805
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12295935
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/meanderingsoul/pseuds/meanderingsoul
Summary: Talbot looked… perplexed. That wasn’t really a foreign expression on his face when they worked together, but this wasn’t the usual suspiciously perplexed expression.





	Working Relationships

 

Coordinating the Hydra decapitation was grueling.

They had the right intel from Malick. They finally had most of the right resources. But Shield still didn’t have enough people or authority to do this themselves, not with the whole Hive problem ongoing, so Coulson was stuck very quietly trying to remotely manage a multinational takedown of Hydra with the ATCU in his spare time.

Coulson currently didn’t have any spare time.

And while General Talbot knew who they were and what they did better than most of the public sector these days, he wouldn’t have been Phil’s first choice for this. Or his second. His first choice had barely been dead a month.

This briefing wouldn’t be going so slowly if he’d been talking to _her_.

“Coulson you’re going to have to actually explain the point of that to me one of these times through this! We don’t just…”

“I would have thought it couldn’t have been more clearly implied by the data when we went over this portion of the plan for the third time not even two minute ago!” he snapped.

They both fell silent. Talbot was glowering and Coulson knew he probably deserved it.

He turned away from the vid screen and allowed himself to briefly squeeze a hand over his eyes. “No offence General, but I was really looking forward to an entirely different working relationship so you’ll have to forgive me if my patience is a little lacking.”

Talbot was never a man to stay quiet if there was time to be something else, so when he said nothing Coulson looked up from his floor.

Talbot looked… perplexed. That wasn’t really a foreign expression on his face when they worked together, but this wasn’t the usual suspiciously perplexed expression.

“What?” Coulson asked.

“I’d thought that was just a rumor.”

“That what was exactly?”

“That you and the late Ms Price were liaising all… physically,” Talbot said with a faint grimace.

Coulson fixed on his best bland expression. It wasn’t like Talbot meant to offend everyone. “What can I say. We hit it off. Especially after we were able to confirm she wasn’t actually Hydra. I prefer relationships that could last.”

Talbot shuffled some files on his desk, but the mic wasn’t clear enough to pick up the rustle. “Well, I just didn’t think you did that sort of _thing_.”

“Which ‘thing’ exactly are we talking about here Talbot?”

Watching Talbot open and close his mouth soundlessly, and flap a hand around while desperately trying to avoid saying the word sex did a lot for Coulson’s stress level, though he’d always found being that awkward about the whole thing childish. Hell, Talbot was married with a kid. They were both adults here.

“Do you play chess Glenn?” he finally asked.

Talbot cleared his throat. “Not much. It’s never really been my pace.”

“I’m far better at the real world version than the game. So was she. Not to be immodest, but I don’t have many peers. It was… fun.”

“Right.”

Coulson just waited. That didn’t seem like it’d be the end of this. He wasn’t having that kind of day.

“Guess I’m surprised either of you made the time, being that you were both your type of people of course. That, and that she was fine with the whole zombie thing I suppose.”

What.

“I… really don’t think of it like that,” he finally said.

“Hmpf. Really? First thing I pictured when I finally got clued in on that whole nightmare.”

“Right. But I was in fact resuscitated.” Coulson wasn’t planning to admit that with some distance between him and that particular traumatic experience, he’d considered a bit of a Halloween prank once or twice, little makeup, bloodied shirt, leave the prosthetic off, but it seemed in poor taste. Also May might actually kill him for it.

“For what it’s worth Phil, I’m sorry. That’s a terrible way to go. Top of her game and everything too, being in charge of this mess.”

“I appreciate the sympathy. She might have even appreciated that compliment.”

Coulson was secretly pretty sure it was a good thing Talbot and Rosalind had never met.

“But you guys did catch the shooter if I’m not mistaken, the Hydra sniper.”

Coulson squeezed his new left hand, blinked at the floor. “Yes, I caught the shooter,” he said quietly.

Talbot wasn’t trained to be as freakishly observant as all the spies he was stuck working with these days. But he wasn’t actually an idiot. He caught that little slip in pronouns.

“Good,” he said. “Now would you please explain to me why a simultaneous operation should be happening in a certain order, cause no matter what you think you’ve _implied_ you haven’t explained a damn thing about that to me yet!”

Coulson bit back a sigh. Back to work.

 


End file.
